At last... a finished UFO... un-finished-object can leave my studio. It has been way too long in the making. It got shoved aside as more projects came up...As you may have noticed, I am re-doing my site so there will be more changes a'comin'.

Piecing Together A Changing Planet just opened this weekend in Homestead at Biscayne National Park. The show will travel to a number of national parks over the next couple of years and end up at Smoky Mountain National Park. I felt blessed to have 2 quilts accepted for this great show. The challenge was to show something about the environment and how it is threatened; what was even more challenging was to make the quilts 20x52 inches. That is a long skinny wall quilt!If you are on Facebook you can see some of the exhibit at facebook Piecing Together a Changing Planet.

Bleaching Coral and Blooming Jellyfish

Close-up

Rising sea temperatures affect coral reefs very much. Coral cannot stand prolonged high temperatures and will "bleach", turning white and then dying if the situation does not change. If it does change, the coral can recover. Most all creatures are affected adversely by the warm temperatures but jellyfish relish the warm and experience "blooms" where they multiply very fast. The top of my quilt in the blue water area sports a swarm of baby jellyfish, the quilted blobs. The left half shows a bleached coral and sea floor with little life. The right side of the quilt shows a healthy coral reef and sea floor bursting with thriving creatures.

Acid Rain Falls on the Just and Unjust Alike

Close-Up

Air pollution is shrinking scenic views, damaging plants, and degrading high elevation streams and soils in the Great Smoky Mountains. Pollutants fall to the ground as acid rain as well as dry particles and cloud water. Since 1948, visibility has decreased from park overlooks as much as 80 percent in summer and 40 percent in winter. The whitish haze of pollution washes out color and obscures features in the landscape, unlike the natural mist clouds of the Smokies. The polluted left hand side of this quilt contrasts with the bright realm of nature on the right.